1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to Internet protocol (IP) communication in a mobile communication system, and more particularly to a method for allocating an IPv6-type IP address by using the telephone number of a mobile terminal when IP communication is performed.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the popularization and development of mobile communication systems increases, various IP communications for use therewith are also being realized. The IP communications include, among others, communications using Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld Devices (DVB-H), Voice over IP (VoIP) and a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). In order to realize such IP communication, it is necessary to allocate an IP address to a mobile terminal. An Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)-type IP address for IP communication includes a fixed value, a geographic address and an interface identification (ID). The fixed value and geographic address are set according to the types of communication companies and the location information of a mobile terminal, and the interface ID is determined by the mobile terminal as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a conventional interface ID field of an IP address in which an interface ID value is set. The interface ID field 200 includes a Type Approval Code (TAC) field 201, an Final Assembly Code (FAC) field 203, an Serial Number (SNR) field 205 and an Software Version Number (SVN) field 207. The values of the fields are set by using an international mobile equipment identity connection (IMEI) for mobile terminals. That is, a 6-digit type approval code is recorded in the TAC field 201, a 2-digit final assembly code is recorded in the FAC field 203, a 6-digit serial number is recorded in SNR field 205, and a 2-digit software version number is recorded in SVN field 207.
The interface ID value determined based on the IMEI as described above has a very complicated structure, and disables sharing location information among the DVB-H, WLAN and VoIP communications because the interface ID value is determined based on a base station. For example, although a mobile terminal communicating with a base station by means of IP enters a WLAN AP (Access Point) service area, the WLAN AP cannot directly access the mobile terminal. Thus, a new IP address must be allocated from the mobile communication system in order to have access to the mobile terminal. In this case, an IP address of an entirely different address system may be allocated. When an originating caller who desires to call to a personal computer or a VoIP terminal has not recognized the IP address of a receiving-side terminal in advance, there is no way for the transmitting-side terminal to know the address system of the receiving-side terminal as described above. Therefore, it is impossible for the calls of the originating caller to reach the user of the corresponding phone using the VoIP service.